Chris Sutton is back for week six of his Premier League predictions, and this time the BBC Sport football expert is up against Starsailor frontman James Walsh, a Liverpool supporter. Sutton is predicting all 380 Premier League games this season, taking on AI, BBC Sport readers and a variety of guests along the way. A correct result is worth 10 points, while nailing the exact score earns 40. The AI predictions are produced by asking Microsoft Copilot Chat to forecast the weekend’s scores. Sutton and Walsh spoke to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
The biggest fixture of the weekend comes at Anfield on Sunday, where Premier League leaders Manchester City visit Liverpool after being found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they were accused of breaching. “It’s a mammoth game,” Sutton said. “Everyone is looking at this game to see if City’s players appear deflated and how much it will affect them. We don’t know what the implications are for this season, either. They are top of the league at the moment but will they get a massive points deduction that changes that?”
Sutton does not expect the off-field situation to shake City’s players, however. He suspects the club and its supporters will now carry a siege mentality — the sense that everyone wants them to lose or be relegated — even if he believes plenty of balanced football fans do not actually feel that way. He expects City to cope with a hostile Anfield reception. Liverpool, for their part, remain a work in progress under Andoni Iraola and have not convinced Sutton in the games he has watched, so he is going for a 1-2 City win and picturing Erling Haaland scoring the winner and celebrating with a big grin.
Walsh sees a strange afternoon ahead for Liverpool because of the backdrop. He argues that a win would be framed as beating “the cheats”, while a defeat would invite the argument that City have benefited from a massive and unfair advantage built up over many years rather than only the period covered by the charges. He believes it will be hard for all 22 players to get their heads around the context and still compete, but he is still backing Liverpool to win 3-1. On what should follow the verdict, Walsh said he is not sure titles and cups should simply be handed to every side that lost out to City, including Liverpool, because those memories and emotional moments cannot be taken from the City players and fans — though he accepts the wins could be chalked off on the official record, or at least carry an asterisk. He added that the uncertainty makes this fixture feel unlike the recent title-deciding meetings between the two clubs, because nobody knows what will happen to City or whether the result will ultimately matter.
Walsh also set out his expectations for Liverpool’s season under new manager Iraola. He said you have to be realistic when a new manager arrives, particularly given that last year’s big signings, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, have not hit the ground running, and he wants Iraola given time to implement his style and the pair given the chance to prove themselves. He does not see Liverpool winning the title but would be happy with the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup, plus a good run in Europe, joking that three more trophies would match 2001.
Walsh’s band, Starsailor, have released a 25th anniversary edition of their debut album, Love is Here, this week and are playing it in full with a string ensemble on their UK and European tour this month. The album reached number two in the UK charts in 2001, has sold more than 1m copies worldwide and has amassed more than 56m streams on Spotify. When it was released, Liverpool had just completed a treble of the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup.
Saturday’s programme opens at the Emirates, where Sutton backs Arsenal to beat Leeds 2-0, Walsh makes a 1-1 draw his outlier pick and the AI goes for 3-1. Brighton were brilliant in beating Arsenal before the international break, harrying the champions and going toe-to-toe with them, and Sutton expects Leeds to offer a stern but different test — Daniel Farke’s unbeaten side are solid and carry a threat, unlike the Leeds team Arsenal thumped 5-0 at the Emirates at the start of last season. Walsh wonders whether Arsenal’s wobble was an anomaly and wants to give resilient Leeds some credit.
At Villa Park, Sutton and Walsh both go 2-1 to Aston Villa, with the AI on 2-2. Brentford are unbeaten and were among the teams who did not want the international break, while Sutton feels the pause may have done Villa good; his only correct Villa call so far was their win over Tottenham. Johan Manzambi is fit again and has found his best form with Switzerland, and Sutton thinks he could make the difference.
At Stamford Bridge, Sutton predicts 3-1 Chelsea, Walsh 2-0 and the AI 2-0. Bournemouth have not won under Marco Rose and will be without midfielder Alex Scott for a while after his injury on international duty, a huge blow given the costly late goals they have conceded. Chelsea, meanwhile, are a nightmare to predict — defensively troubled but richly talented in attack, and too inconsistent to be considered title challengers — though Cole Palmer will be rested and refreshed after injury.
At Portman Road, Sutton and the AI both see a 1-1 draw between Ipswich and Fulham, while Walsh goes 1-2 to Fulham. Ipswich lost to Everton last time out but kept going after going down to 10 men, and Sutton hopes they stay up even though he keeps tipping them to lose. Fulham are winless but have deserved more, having been unlucky not to beat Manchester United and having impressed in a draw with Liverpool.
At the Stadium of Light, Sutton predicts 1-1, Walsh 2-2 and the AI 1-2. Sutton would usually back Sunderland at home, but Brighton are playing brilliant football and full of confidence after sneaking a win there last season. Walsh expects both sides to attack and cannot separate them, arguing Sunderland’s never-say-die spirit — the one they showed against Manchester City — will earn them something.
Saturday closes at Old Trafford, where Sutton and the AI both go 2-1 to Manchester United and Walsh opts for 1-0. A win would be big for Michael Carrick after a shaky start, while defeat would raise bigger questions about his future; Sutton is unconvinced by United but reckons Tottenham, bottom of the table and flaky, are there for the taking, and he fancies Bruno Fernandes to settle it with a bit of magic. Walsh calls it a high-pressure fixture for both, expects United to edge it at home and relieve the pressure on their own manager, and says the heat would then fall on Roberto de Zerbi instead — adding that Spurs look further from clicking than other sides and that this game comes too early for them.
On Sunday, Sutton takes Nottingham Forest to win 0-1 at Crystal Palace, Walsh goes 3-2 to Palace and the AI says 1-1. Palace have started slowly under Pierre Sage, one of several new managers yet to settle, while Forest lost at home to Coventry and have been up and down under Oliver Glasner — who Sutton expects to receive a decent reception on his return to his old club. At the MKM Stadium, Sutton and the AI both predict 1-1 between Hull and Everton, with Walsh on 1-2. Hull’s unbeaten start ended at Newcastle, though they almost snatched a point after conceding twice early on, and Sutton thinks it has the look of a draw, with Everton set to grind through the season.
Monday’s game at the Coventry Building Society Arena sees Sutton and the AI at 1-1 and 1-2 respectively, with Walsh on 2-2. Newcastle are exciting but struggle for control, while Coventry have the chance to back up their first win of the season against Nottingham Forest. Walsh, who has passionate Coventry-supporting friends and associates the club with Steve Ogrizovic, opted for a draw to keep everyone happy.
In week five, Sutton got four correct results with one exact score from 10 games for 70 points, beating both the AI — five correct results, no exact scores, 50 points — and the BBC readers, who managed three correct results with one exact score for 60 points. The weekly win went to guest Johnny Marr, whose exact score in Fulham’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United helped him to 80 points and sent the guests to the top of the table. It was another tough round: only Everton’s win over Ipswich and Manchester City’s win against Sunderland were called correctly by everyone.